What is a Bespoke Trip?

A bespoke trip is also known as a tailor-made or private group tour. Basically what this means is that you come to us with your
ideas for a trip and we help you turn those ideas into an actual itinerary. You may know exactly what you want and you just need us
to organise it for you or you may not have any idea what you want and need help working it out. You have complete control over
the itinerary and can choose the destination, duration, activities involved, type of accommodation and even how many meals are included.
We will of course offer our expert guidance on the best options available to you, but ultimately you get to choose exactly what you want!

Which Bespoke Challenges do you offer?

The very nature of a Bespoke Challenge is that we can offer any trip you like from virtually every overseas destination
(see here for some ideas)! One of the things which makes The Different Travel Company
different is the fact that we are able to arrange for your trip or charity challenge to include some time assisting at or visiting a
project in the destination country if this is of interest. We like to link these projects with the aims of a particular charity,
company or group of individuals.
For example, if you are a group of supporters of an animal charity and are particularly interested in trekking in Borneo we may be able to
link that with an primate conservation project. Or if you are a health and social care teacher looking for a school trip for your students,
we could link you with some of our fantastic projects in India. Of course, there is no requirement to include a project element
so just get in touch and we can put a trip style together for you that suits your time frame, departure dates, budget and itinerary.
We offer competitive prices which are flexible depending on your requirements.

How many people do I need for a bespoke challenge?

For our bespoke charity challenges you only need to recruit 10 people for the trip to go ahead! As long as you are willing and able
to actively promote the challenge with our support, you will have no problems reaching the minimum of 10 participants required.

What are the benefits of including a project visit?

Because we tailor the project to match the aims of your charity, it helps people at home learn more about your cause and it
inspires your supporters to be able to give something back to a project which has the same values as the charity they support.

It avoids 'free holiday' syndrome, whereby participants find it hard to overcome the impression that their
sponsors are simply paying for a free holiday

Local media interest is greater when there is a non-local angle on the story which can help fundraising participants increase
potential sponsorship income

The days spent at the project help the team get to know one another and bond if done prior to the physical activity
(trek/cycle etc), or enjoy the final days of each others company before going home if done after the physical activity

People like to feel that they are making a difference to the lives of others. Getting involved at a project allows participants
to see first hand the difference that can be made if people work together.

In destinations where the group are taking on an extreme challenge it gives the participants an opportunity to either rest and acclimatise
prior to taking their physical challenge, or to unwind from their challenge if the project takes place after the challenge.

It is a great way to interact with the local community and learn the culture and customs of the people.

Which projects can we include in our itinerary?

If you, or your organisation have a link with a project overseas this can often be the ideal place to start. If not and you would
like to include the project element we have links with many local charities and NGOs throughout the world and can usually find one to
suit your interests or requirements. The projects we offer vary from country to country. They might include the construction;
refurbishment of a school, library or home for elderly people; teaching English to orphaned children; sharing job skills with
isolated communities; conservation or rehabilitation of endangered wild animals; or planting an organic vegetable garden. Get in touch
for specific ideas in your chosen destination.

How much will you charge me/my charity to work with you?

We don't levy any charges or fees to provide you with a quote for a bespoke trip or when you confirm a trip with us.
We offer you the best price we can for the trip you want on a sliding scale from 10+ passenger. By not charging you any fees to
work with us, we have an added incentive to make the trip work because if the trip is a success for you it is also a success for us!

What is the price of a bespoke challenge?

All our pricing varies depending on the destination and the elements you would like to include in the itinerary. Our pricing is
competitive and on a sliding scale from a minimum of only 10 participants depending upon the tour. For a
no-obligation quote please contact us with your ideas on info@different-travel.com

Why should we work with you?

There are plenty of companies which offer you charity events, and you may probably been working with some of them for many years.
So what would be the benefit to you of working with a different company?
There are several advantages:

Having the unique opportunity to help at community and environmental projects as well as taking on a physical challenge (see
above for reasons why this is a great advantage).

We offer advice on how to make your challenge carbon neutral, which makes them ethical and sustainable.

We are a small, dedicated and flexible company which offer a personal service and excellent support to our charity partners.

We offer you a range of marketing support services for your challenge, and we aim to help you to make our challenges
a success for you, for us, and for the local community.

As an ATOL-bonded tour operator, you know you can trust our organisation and you are ATOL-protected abroad.

All our staff are experienced travellers and have passion for overseas adventures

Dedicated account manager so you know who to turn to for advice and help with your challenge

What are the benefits of a Bespoke trip over an Open Challenge?

For an Open Challenge to be a success you still need to put in as much effort as you do for a Bespoke trip to get a good number
of registrations. As such, there are several advantages to choosing a Bespoke trip rather than an Open Challenge:

We offer a free place for a charity representative in our costs on Bespoke trips

You choose where, how long and what's included on the challenge.

Participants will all be supporting your charity and fundraising for a common cause. This gives them a great group bond and can
mean that sponsorship targets are exceeded because participants support each other in their fundraising efforts too.

Participants are usually based in the same general location so are able to meet, get to know one another and train
prior to departure which allows them to bond.

During the trip the participants have the charity in common so it can be easy to motivate anyone who is having an 'off day'
by reminding the group the cause that they are there supporting.

We offer you a range of extra marketing support not available on our Open Challenges such as information evening and a pre-departure
presentation to help you recruit and support your participants.

What are the processes/procedures of running a Bespoke challenge?

1) We agree on an itinerary, dates and costs. You confirm you would like to offer this to your supporters.
2) We sign a letter of confirmation which outlines the above and our commitment to work together (financially risk free!).
3) We produce support materials and help you decide on a minimum sponsorship for the trip.
4) You promote the trip, with our assistance.
5) Bookings come in with the registration fee and fundraising assistance from you for each participant begins.
6) Once the minimum number of bookings is achieved (we only require a minimum of 10 participants), we invoice you for the group
deposit. At this stage flights are held and you continue to promote the trip and recruit additional participants.
7) The participants continue to raise money, with your support.
8) 12 weeks out participants should have raised at least 80% of their minimum sponsorship target.
9) 8 weeks out our invoice for the final tour costs is due. Participants continue to raise money up to, and after departure.
10) The difference between the tour costs (payable to us) and the minimum sponsorship raised goes to the charity

What kind of support will I be offered?

We offer a very flexible support package to meet your needs and needs of your charity. At the very least we will provide you with
print-ready marketing materials such as flyers, photographs, trip dossiers and copy for your website or newsletter if required.
We also provide tips on how to effectively market the challenge and advice on how to convert enquiries to bookings. We will put your logo
onto our charity partners page with some information about your charity, and this list will be available to people
who would like to choose a charity to fundraise for if they aren't already sure. In addition we provide information evenings where
we give an informative presentation about the experience to help increase your bookings. We also provide a pre-departure meeting
which goes into detail about the trip, what to expect, what to pack and a general feel for the experience with your confirmed group.
As we are a small flexible company, if there is anything you would like us to provide which we haven't offered, we are open to suggestions
and always willing to do our best to accommodate your requests.

How much input can I have into a Bespoke itinerary?

As much as you like! The more details you provide, the quicker we can help you create the perfect itinerary for you! Things to consider include:

Your concept/idea/theme

Your chosen destination

Month of departure

How challenging?

Would you like a project?

What is the group demographic (e.g. age/gender)?

Have you done an overseas trek before?

If yes, where and was it successful?

What else do I need to know?

Our charity challenges include all aspects of the tour from flights and accommodation to permits and guides. We offer a full
pre-departure package which includes specialist advice on what participants need to take on the trip, advice on insurance and how to
make the trip carbon neutral. We also offer a range of post-trip extension options for those who wish to extend their trip. As a
licensed ATOL-bonded travel tour operator, you can rest assured that when you work with us,
you're protected too.

Sounds great! What is my next step?

Have a look at the downloadable information in the right hand side menu and learn more about us. Then get in touch so we can help you
select a challenge. We will ensure you are provided with all the materials and help to set you up with a charity challenge.
Just use the form on our Contact Us page, email us on info@different-travel.com
or call on +44(0)788 169 86 23 then sit back
and let us get to work for you!

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The Different Travel Company Ltd. is a company registered in England, number 05324268 and is ATOL bonded, number 6706. Many of the flights and flight-inclusive holidays on this website are financially protected by the ATOL scheme. But ATOL protection does not apply to all holiday and travel services listed on this website. Please ask us to confirm what protection may apply to your booking. If you do not receive an ATOL Certificate then the booking will not be ATOL protected. If you do receive an ATOL Certificate but all the parts of your trip are not listed on it, those parts will not be ATOL protected. Please see our booking conditions for information or for more information about financial protection and the ATOL Certificate go to: www.atol.org.uk/ATOLCertificate.